2001 4x4 Tires

[KPhillips]

I have the 3. 54 gearing in my '01 and it currently has 245-75R-16 tires... . my question is:



What is the biggest tire you guys have been able to run without really degrading the performance and towing with your 3. 54 gears...



I know from my Jeep wrenching, that lower gears are better because of the crawl ratio and the big tires I'm running, but I'm not sure how that translates over to my new truck and the hauling I will be doing (primarily the Jeep, and maybe the father in laws tractor, etc).



I know that with a gas engine, you might still want those low gears to help you more easily haul a load,,,



... I guess after all this, what I'm really asking is what the optimal gear ratio is for towing?



Once I know this I can do the regular math of how bigger tires affect my ratio and compensate accordingly by re gearing if necessary, I'm wanting to run around a 285-75R-16



thanks

 

[Chipstien]

Depends on who you ask....

There's another post in the 24 valve section about this. Some run 315's with 3. 54 gears and tows alot and loves it. Others would say 265 would be enough. Keep in mind that it really depends on how much you tow and how you drive. If you are towing a 6000 pound trailer than go with the 285's. If you towing a 14,000 pound 5ver than stick with the 245's. IMO of course. PS. If you only towing a 6000 pound trailer than get a bigger one or you might go out to your truck and it won't start. This weight would insult the mighty Cummins Good luck.

 

[HC]

I just installed a set of 295/75R16's. My stock size was 265's. My reason for going with the 295 vs the 285 was that NEITHER was available in a load range "E", but the rating in pounds was 3415# for my stock 265 "E" and was also 3415# for the 295, Load Range D. The maximum load for the 285's is just a hair lower, and I didn't want to give up any capacity.



So far I think I've lost about 1 mpg due to increased height and more aggressive tread, but I'm happy with the gearing and extra ground clearance. Looks good too. With my six speed, grabbing a lower gear is always an option.

 

[CUMAPART]

KPhillips,

I run the Michelin 265's (load range E) that came on my truck. They seem to tow my FJ just fine so they should work for your Jeep. I dont think I'll go any bigger than this. It works for what I tow.

 

[HC]

Additional thought - I know my truck came with 265's on a 16 X 8 rim. If your rim width is different, that may limit which tires you should be considering. Most of the tire sites (like www.bfgoodrich.com) have spec sheets that tell you what range of rim widths are acceptable with each tire.

 

[BLACKRAM]

285's with 3. 54 gears will make your effective gear ratio 3. 21.



Hope that helps.

 

[PRout]

Im running 285/75r16 BFG AT's w/ 3. 54 gears on stock rims. Really like that combo. No problem at all. No rubbing, or noticable loss in brake performance.



Did lose a little power, but one bomb, will more than make up for it.



Wouldnt want to go much higher on the size, w/o 3. 73, or 4. 10's for towing because at 55 in 6th, the r's are a little low, and youll be lugging if you need to pull a grade.



The next set of tires will be the same size, excepth will go w/ mud tires. Alot of the guys are running this size, and seem to be pretty happy.

 

[Archive]

Originally posted by 2000ney

285's with 3. 54 gears will make your effective gear ratio 3. 21.



Hope that helps.

How did you figure that out?

 

[KPhillips]

I hadn't really looked at that until now, but my calculation showed that upgrading from 245's to 285's would knock my ratio from 3. 54 to around a 2. 72 ratio, I used the 4lo web site calculator to figure that out... .

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Originally posted by KPhillips

What is the biggest tire you guys have been able to run without really degrading the performance and towing with your 3. 54 gears...

Well, I have the Rixon 19. 5 inch 275 tires and steel rims set-up wearing Yokohama TY303 rubber and am very pleased. With just over 21k miles on the odometer, they still look almost brand new and have met all my expectations.